She almost did not run. Christine Williams admits that now. She could barely put one foot after another following the wake(守灵) for her sister, who had died in an automobile accident. But she did run. With the cheers of friends and strangers reaching her heart, Williams set a C.W. Post record in Boston. Now she will run again, in the national Division II cross-country championships in Evansville, Ind. She wanted to be sure she was doing the right thing by running. She was the middle of three sisters, between Kerry, who is 25, and Jennifer, who was 18.

    Just going through any motions was hard enough, but Christine Williams wanted to know if she should put on her uniform and her shoes and run through the woods on an autumn afternoon, in the awful gaping time between her sister's wake and her funeral. “I kind of got upset beforehand.”Williams admitted. Not a chatterbox under normal conditions, she now holds herself the best way she can, the fewer words the better. She almost walked away from the start line. But her friend Angela Toscano, who had flown up to Boston with her, directly from the wake, was standing near the line and talked her through it. “She said my sister would have wanted me to run.” Christine said. And that was enough to get her started.

    The accident happened just after midnight on Nov, 4. Four young women were driving in an unfamiliar area of Long Island in Eastport, N.Y., when one of them apparently ran a yield sign, and the car was hit by another vehicle. Heather Brownrigg and Jennifer Williams died, and their friends April Brown and Kaci Moran were treated at a hospital and released.

    The crash made the papers. April Brown was charged with drunken driving and driving without a license.

    The wake began on Nov. 6. The next day Christine was to run with the Post cross-country team at the regional meet. Rich Degnan, the Post coach, and Post officials offered a car service and tickets on the last flight to Boston for Christine and Toscano. When they arrived at the hotel, the entire team was waiting up for her.

    Everybody knew about it at the regional meet. Degnan had to arrange for the flexibility of an alternate, just in case Christine could not go. Several times during the race, Christine felt she could not continue. But then she heard her friends and all those other people, those strangers from other colleges, calling her name. She thought about Jennifer. And she ran. She finished fourth in 22 minutes 58 seconds, breaking the Post record for the 6-kilometer distance by 15 seconds. And although the Post team didn't qualify for the nationals, Christine did.

    People often say that there is nothing in the world that can be as great as a mother's love. Some mother expressions mean just that. The phrase "mother lode" comes from mining. It means the place where the largest amount of gold can be found. But now, the term "mother lode" means a rich supply of anything. For example, you might say, "She just graduated from college and struck the mother lode with her new job!"

    When we call something "the mother of all", this means it is the biggest or best of something. Here is an example: "We are going to throw the mother of all parties this weekend. So you have to come!"

    Naturally, the word "mother" can be used to mean to give birth, even to something you cannot touch, such as an idea or wisdom. The saying "necessity is the mother of invention" means that when people really need to do something, they will find a way to do it. And "experience is the mother of wisdom" means that people learn from what happens to them.

    You might think all expressions about mothers are sweet and loving. Not so. A boy who is "tied to his mother's apron strings(围裙带)" is controlled by his mother. We can also call him a "mama's boy". Both of these terms are even more insulting(侮辱人的) if you are talking about a man, not a young boy. It can be a huge mistake for a woman to marry a "mama's boy" who is still "tied to his mother's apron strings".

    A show about mothers would not be complete without talking about the very popular but mysterious "Mother Goose". The short poems and songs that "Mother Goose" wrote are a part of growing up in the United States. Real or not, you could say "Mother Goose" is the mother of all nursery rhyme(童谣) writers.

    Studies have shown most people fail to realize how much time they spend on their smart­phones each day.

    Frank and Amelia's family were put to a test, using a free app called "Moment­screen Time Tracker". The Vascellaros—Frank, Amelia, 14­year­old twins Frankie and Joe, and 17­year­old Sam—all said they did not really know they were spending so much time on their phones each day.

    "Honestly, I don't feel like I'm on my phone a lot," Amelia Vascellaro said. Amelia was on her phone far less often than Frank, according to the app. While Amelia spent about an hour per day on the phone, Frank spent close to four hours on his phone—which came as a shock to him. The children's times varied but they often spent more than a couple of hours on the phone as well.

    Minneapolis­based Dr Kirsten Lind Seal sees phone usage come up a lot among families. Lind Seal said many family members' phone use has become problematic.

    "If we hear more than once, 'Do you have to be on your phone right now? Can you please put your phone down? Did you hear what I said?' it may be a sign that it is negatively influencing our family relationships and our daily lives," she said.

    Lind Seal said actually paying attention to how much time one spends on the phone is a good first step in deciding when to put it down.

    She asks parents to encourage more face­to­face communication for teens and young adults as they continue developing their social and emotional skills. "What we find is that we are really losing out on empathy—the ability to understand other people's feelings and problems——when we spend a lot of time on our smart­phones to communicate with other people she said.

    There is such a group of singers in the western musical circle at present, who enter the business as online celebrities(名人)and then become top idols and giant stars globally. They become popular for their videos online and then they are discovered by talent agents and gradually cause huge storms in the musical circle. For example, Troye Sivan, a singer who is nicknamed "chuoye", became popular on You tube from an early age.

    As a popular video sharing website, You Tube has given rise to plenty of stars, creating a new celebrity culture. Providing a platform where anyone can post videos. You tube presents the opportunity for anyone to achieve fame by simply uploading a short video. Sivan has been making you tube videos since he was 12 to show his singing talent. In the digital age, Sivan has already developed large devoted audience online and his sensitive video blogs have earned him extreme popularity.

    A. survey has showed that US teenagers are more attracted with You Tube stars, which is a surprising result. You Tube stars are judged to be more attractive, outstanding and related than traditional stars. Looking at the survey comments and feedback, teens enjoy a close and real experience with You Tube celebrities, who aren't carefully directed by design. Teens also say they appreciate YouTube stars sense of humor and risk-taking spirit, which are often limited by Hollywood stars. As a result, singers who make their first show in the traditional way no longer have a complete advantage in front of the audience. Online platforms open up a lot of doors for people. They become the best place to be discovered.

    About a month after I joined Facebook, I got a call from Lori Goler, a highly regarded senior director of marketing at eBay. She made it clear this was a business call. "I want to apply to work with you at Facebook," she said. "Instead of recommending myself, I want to ask you: What is your biggest problem, and how can I solve it?"

    My jaw hit the floor. I had hired thousands of people over the previous decade and no one had ever said anything remotely like that. People usually focus on finding the right role for themselves, with the implication that their skills will help the company. Lori put Facebook's needs front and center. It was a killer approach. I responded, "Recruiting is my biggest problem. And, yes, you can solve it."

    Lori never dreamed she would work in recruiting, but she jumped in. She even agreed to trade earnings for acquiring new skills in a new field. Lori did a great job running recruiting and within months was promoted to her current job, leading People@Facebook.

    The most common metaphor for careers is a ladder, but this concept no longer applies to most workers. As of 2010, the average American had eleven jobs from the ages of eighteen to forty-six alone. Lori often quotes Pattie Sellers, who came up with a much better metaphor: "Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder."

    As Lori describes it, there's only one way to get to the top of a ladder, but there are many ways to get to the top of a jungle gym. The jungle gym model benefits everyone, but especially women who might be starting careers, switching careers, getting blocked by external barriers, or reentering the workforce after taking time off. The ability to create a unique path with occasional dips, detours (弯路), and even dead ends presents great views of many people, not just those at the top. On a ladder, most climbers are stuck staring at the butt of the person above.

    It has been a year since I found out my friend had passed away. I still store his phone number, even though I know calling the number will never reach him again. I feel like if I deleted (删除) his phone number, it would mean he was really gone.

    Over the past few years, we have planned to travel together just to see the dolphins in the sea. However, for some reasons it didn't happen, yet I always took his calls over the years. We shared a lot of interests.

    When I knew that he had been diagnosed (诊断) with a very serious illness and was in hospital, I remembered sending messages to him. I did not receive a message back, so I left a voicemail. A week later, I sent him a message once again. However, I still didn't get a reply. I thought he was busy. During the next several months I was very busy, too. Suddenly, in that mid-summer, I received a short message: "Sorry, Marlynn, He has passed away."

    I was very sad and surprised at the words. I was very sad and regretful. I regretted that I let the months pass without trying again. I worked with many people who had also lost their best friends. The sadness is often unspeakable. There is guilt (内疚), helplessness and sadness that is difficult to put into words.

    Now I try to be grateful for the times and memories we have. I realize the best thing that we can do is value the ones we love.